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In January the library added streaming to our offerings from Freegal for our Hoboken resident card holders. Now not only can you download five songs per week from Freegal, you can also stream 3 hours of music per day. This includes lots of popular music like Adele’s latest album 25. Recently I’ve been enjoying the retro charms of Elle King’s “Ex’s and Oh’s” and remembering David Bowie with songs like “The Man Who Sold the World” and songs from his last album Blackstar. Below is a short world tour of a few additional bands/singers I’ve added to my streaming playlist that you may not have encountered before.

BabyMetal

Image credit: Freegal

BabyMetal is a quirky Japanese group which falls under the kawaii metal category. They fuse jpop (Japanese pop music) with death metal. Three teenage girls provide fun pop tunes merged with growling backing vocals and heavy metal guitar riffs. It might seem like it shouldn’t work, but it does and their catchy tunes will get stuck in your head. Stream “HeadBangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!”, “Gimme Chocolate!!”, and “Doki Doki Morning”. They will be touring the US in May including a date across the river in NYC.

Tarja

I’ve been a fan of Finland’s Tarja Turunen since she was the lead singer in Nightwish. Her recent solo work allows her powerful voice to soar. Sample “Feel Immortal” and “Falling Awake”. Plus you can checkout Nightwish’s symphonic metal “Wishmaster” and “Nemo”.

Ayria

Ayria‘s from our Northern neighbor, Canada. Their industrial dance music will have you wanting to get up and move. I’m streaming “Post Apocalyptic Girl”, “It’s Been Fun”, and my favorite “Horrible Dream”.

Ataraxia

The Italian band Ataraxia has been one of my favorites for a while with their merging of modern tech with early acoustic instruments. Wailing vocals sung in multiple languages add to their distinctive sound. Sample “Scarlet Leaves”, “Li Frere Li Mestre Du Temple”, and “Quintaluna”.

Emilie Autumn

America’s own Emilie Autumn has a huge cult fan base. Her persona merges Lady Gaga with Courtney Love. I find myself listening to “Swallow”, “Marry Me”, “Misery Loves Company”, and other tracks from her album Opheliac again and again.

Die Laughing

Die Laughing is a melodic Goth band from the UK. Their songs “Safe Little World” and “Firedance” make me nostalgic for the goth club nights of my early twenties.